HERO

34 / Shopper's Delight

He started to back away, but knew it was no good. He had nowhere to go, and what was the point? He stood still. Stood tall, as tall as his diminutive stature allowed, and faced his demise. The car was almost upon him. He put up his arms in a futile attempt to protect his face and took an involuntary step backwards.

His back bumped into something and he glanced back.

The door!

The shop's entrance, as so many were, was automatic and, with him backed against the glass of the door, it realised its job. There was a quiet swoosh as it slid open and he fell inside. He turned back to face the car, preparing to roll out of the way, but it was too late. It was upon him, only inches away from driving right over him and crushing him under its wheels.

He closed his eyes again, not wanting to see it as it squashed the life from him.

"Can I help you son?"

Thomas opened his eyes. Standing over him was a man in a shirt and tie. The tie, he noticed, had a grinning Bugs Bunny printed on it, eating a carrot. The man was smiling as widely as the rabbit.

"Are you OK? Would you like a basket or trolley? The toys are down aisle nine."

Thomas blinked, not expecting such a... normal conversation. He pushed himself up and stood, trembling slightly at the thought of his two brushes with death.

"Can you talk, son? Would you like me to find your parents?"

Thomas shook his head slowly. He didn't trust himself to speak, worried as he was that his voice would shake as much as he felt his body was doing. But he had to.

"No," he said quietly. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Manners, eh? I like that. Well, like I said, the toys are on aisle nine and the alcohol is on twenty three."

Thomas frowned. Why would the man be telling him where the alcohol was? Couldn't he see he was only a boy?

"Thanks," he said. "!'ll find them."

"Have the wonderfullest of days," the man gushed, his smile widening enough to practically split his face in two.

"And you too," Thomas answered.

He turned and hurried away, wanting to lose himself amongst the aisle and the shoppers. They wouldn't know he didn't have any powers. He would be just one of them, after some sweets or can of fizzy orange. He went to push the metal looped barrier that separated the entrance and the vacant customer services booth from the main store, but it swung open on its own as he neared. He walked through and into the stop proper, where he could lose himself in the rows of dog food and loaves of bread. It was a supermarket. He'd be safe there.

He went along the various aisles aimlessly. He wasn't there to buy anything anyway. He just wanted to keep away from sea monsters and driverless cars. The shop was busy. A son walked beside his mother, staring at his phone. A daughter next to her father, looking as if shopping was the worst punishment imaginable. A couple arguing over a brand of coffee. A lone man. Around twenty three years old. He was pushing a small trolley, the sort a person living alone might use. It was also, of course, the sort someone would use if all they needed was a loaf of bread, maybe some dog food toilet rolls and the coffee the couple couldn't decide on.. He was smiling and nodding his head in time to music being fed through the earphones he was wearing.

It was an odd scene. No one flew or levitated. The shelves were well stocked. People were paying and not taking what they wanted. The only stern words were between the coffee loving couple.

There were no powers on display. Perhaps none in existence. Thomas, for once, was not the odd one out. He was the same as everyone else.

He thought he would like that. He thought that it should be everything he could possibly have hoped for. But it wasn't. It terrified him. He didn't feel as if he was finally at home. He was still alone. Alone in a world that was holding its breath. Waiting. They didn't know, but he could tell. They each had an expectant look on their face.